Welcome Guest! If you are already a member of the BMW MOA, please log in to the forum in the upper right hand corner of this page. Check "Remember Me?" if you wish to stay logged in.

We hope you enjoy the excellent technical knowledge, event information and discussions that the BMWMOA forum provides.
Why not take the time to join the club, so you can enjoy posting on
the forum, the club magazine, and all of the discounts and benefits the BMWMOA offers?Want to read the MOA monthly magazine for free? Take a 3-month test ride of the magazine; check here for details.

If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You will need to join the MOA before you can post: click this register link to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

NOTE. Some content will be hidden from you. If you want to view all content, you must register for the forum if you are not a member, or if a member, you must be logged in.

RECALL NHTSA Recal ID No. 13v279000 BMW 2013 F700 GS and F800 GS
BMW of North America (BMW) is recalling certain model year 2013 F700 GS and F800 GS motorcycles manufactured June 1, 2012, through October 18, 2012. The side-stand switch that prevents the engine from running while the side-stand is down may become damaged allowing the engine to run with the side-stand down.

The BMW Motorrad GoldBet SBK Team is heading to the East of Europe where the second half of the 2013 FIM Superbike World Championship starts in Russia. The ?Moscow Raceway? - located west of the Russian capital Moscow close to the city of Volokolamsk - will host the eighth round of the season this weekend (19th to 21st July). It is the second visit by the Superbike World Championship to the new ?Moscow Raceway? which was only opened one year ago in July 2012. Last year?s Russian debut was a more than successful weekend for BMW Motorrad...More

express.co.uk: Sauber agree to deal with Russian partners
FWIW: Where is the fat lady when you need her? Now it needs to be reviewed and approved. In the post BMW era Sauber has done deals it was forced to break.

Motorcycling is like sugar ? with the first taste fresh in your memory you know it needs to be part of your everyday life. But what happens when something catastrophic happens in your life to prevent you from getting that sweet rush of joy and excitement from riding a motorcycle? In the case of Bert Pot, the lure of riding a motorcycle again was so strong that, despite the losing his left hand...More

Rolls-Royce celebrated a record Goodwood Festival of Speed over the weekend...More

The Mustard Museum can use your vote. I have no financial ties or connection with the Mustard Museum. New Glarus visitors and fans of mustard will recognize the name.

The Mustard Museum has entered the NASFT ad contest in hopes of winning a $15,000 national ad campaign (and a trip to San Francisco). Voting starts today and ends July 21 and you can vote once EVERY DAY. Please help us become one of the ten finalists. And please share this with your friends so that we can run up the vote totals for the National Mustard Museum: CLICK HERE TO VOTE FOR THE MUSTARD MUSEUM

TED: Bernie Krause: The voice of the natural world
Bernie Krause has been recording wild soundscapes -- the wind in the trees, the chirping of birds, the subtle sounds of insect larvae -- for 45 years. In that time, he has seen many environments radically altered by humans, sometimes even by practices thought to be environmentally safe. A surprising look at what we can learn through nature's symphonies, from the grunting of a sea anemone to the sad calls of a beaver in mourning

NEW: DIY Motorcycle Lift/Work Deck
Saw this in another thread and thought I would add it to the Reference Library. Since my last move I have been on the floor. I am thinking about this winter and upcoming projects. I have used DIY Lifts/Work Decks for years. This caught my eye.

autoblog.com: Formula e calendar set at ten races, top F1 teams being courted

Woodcliff Lake, N.J. ? July 16, 2013 . . . The opening four rounds of the 2013 American Le Mans Series have seen the new BMW Z4 GTE race to the GT class victory at both Long Beach and Lime Rock Park. Round Five will be held...Moe

NEW: DIY Motorcycle Lift/Work Deck
Saw this in another thread and thought I would add it to the Reference Library. Since my last move I have been on the floor. I am thinking about this winter and upcoming projects. I have used DIY Lifts/Work Decks for years. This caught my eye.

bbc.co.uk: Formula 1 boss Ecclestone indicted
German prosecutors have indicted Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone for alleged bribery.
Does this mark the end of the Ecclestone era? FIA conduct rules for drivers now apply to management. How they, or internal pressure form investors will impact El Supermo will be a story to follow in the coming days.

RECALL Transport Canada and Suzuki issued a recall on the GSX 1300R Hyabusa model
On certain motorcycles, the Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS) modulator may have been manufactured incorrectly and could fail. Loss of ABS function would allow the front and/or rear wheel to lock under braking which, in...

BMW Motorrad and Dainese have announced that they are to cooperate in a joint development of innovative motorcycle safety clothing for BMW Motorrad. Taking the Dainese D-Air? Protect System as its starting point, the partners ...More

The opening four rounds of the 2013 American Le Mans Series (ALMS) have seen the new BMW Z4 GTE race to GT class victory at both Long Beach (US) and Lime Rock Park (US). Round five will be held at the Canadian Tire...More

Woodcliff Lake, NJ ? July 17, 2013? For the second year in a row, BMW has been voted the ?Best Car Manufacturer in the World? by the readers of Frequent Business Traveler, and has won the only automotive manufacturer...More

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the leading manufacturer of super-luxury motor cars, today announced the creation of more than 100 new jobs. This announcement follows record sales over the last three years, significant expansion of the manufacturing plant and the launch of the Company?s latest model, Wraith. Half-year sales figures announced last week show that Rolls‑Royce is on track for another record year in 2013 ...More

TED Talks Pico Iyer: Where is home
More and more people worldwide are living in countries not considered their own. Writer Pico Iyer -- who himself has three or four ?origins? -- meditates on the meaning of home, the joy of traveling and the serenity of standing still.

NEW: DIY Motorcycle Lift/Work Deck
Saw this in another thread and thought I would add it to the Reference Library. Since my last move I have been on the floor. I am thinking about this winter and upcoming projects. I have used DIY Lifts/Work Decks for years. This caught my eye.

Help Wanted: Are you an experienced motorcycle fabricator
Los Angeles area based Arch Motorcycle Company, the venture between veteran motorcycle builder Gard Holinger and actor Keanu Reeves\,) is looking for an experienced fabricator. Below the expected required ...More

TED Talks Two young scientists break down plastics with bacteria
Once it's created, plastic (almost) never dies. While in 12th grade Miranda Wang and Jeanny Yao went in search of a new bacteria to biodegrade plastic -- specifically by breaking down phthalates, a harmful plasticizer. They found*

WorldSBK Moscow 2013
The break between R1 and R2 at Imola marked the halfway point in the 2013 WorldSBK season. The Manufacturer order did not change with Aprilia P1, Kawasaki P2(after R1), BMW P3, Honda P4, Suzuki P5 and Ducati P6. The overall standings may not have changed but the points margins did. Moscow moved up several slots on the SBK calendar. How teams fair here will have much to do with how the season finishes.

Aprilia 289 points

Rather than by the dominance of Emperor Biaggi, Aprilias hold on the Manufacturer lead has been the result of hard riding by several riders. Going to Moscow my question was would democracy work for Aprilia? Guintoli, currently number 2 in the riders hunt, may have made that question mute by crashing his bicycle. One would assume this would result in the team focussing on Laverty, number 3 in the rider standings, to take the team home and capture the Manufacturer Championship.

Whomever assumes the lead rider slot, Aprilia must settle on one if they are going to take the manufacturers title. They have entertained by letting the Aprilia *riders duel amongst themselves. They have done this near the top and thus holding other riders and teams down in the process. All but the rider and team that is becoming the arch nemesis of the field. They must find a way to deal with that threat quickly.

Kawasaki 259 points

In the first seven rounds Sykes has taken 6 poles and turned them into 10 podium finishes with 5 wins in that lot. In these cases he has been able to win the race to turn 3 on the first lap and in turn has left others fighting for position while he manages his bike to the flag. Sykes and his Z-10 are improving race after race. *In the past riders could challenge him and have him run his tyres off. Improvements to the Z10 have made this harder to do but he has not been challenged seriously of late to verify that the problem has been solved.

BMW 237 points

Qualifying

One simple word that sums up BMWs problems. Yes we have been treated to explanations about chassis and electronic problems; yet five years into WSBK BMW still has not figured out how to qualify. Melandri averaged P6.0 and Davies P9.4 for qualifying in the first half of the season yet finished P3.8 and P5.1. In too many races this gap between qualifying rust and race finish has been filled by Aprilia riders and kept Melandri and Davies from running down Sykes. When they are able to get ahead of that lot they have scored well. Third is not the position BMW was expecting this season. Sort out qualifying and that will change.

Honda 138 points

Haslam is back and Rea has been riding strongly in the last races. Haslam being gone did not help but the real problem for Honda is the bike. The Honda is dueling with an Epee while Aprilia, BMW and Suzuki are armed with rapiers and cutlases. Rea has been able to chase Sykes but has not had the power or handling to deal a real blow to him in a duel. *Honda will be a factor in the balance of the season but not in the way they hoped for.

Suzuki 122 points

Suzuki lost ground to Honda between the R1 and R2 at Imola because Rea was able to pull ahead of the the knot behind Sykes. I expect the other teams to sort that out and throw Honda back into Suzukis lap. In turn I expect them to dispatch Honda and take P4 in the final standings.

This is a key season for the FIXI Crescent Team behind the paddock wall They continue to sort themselves out very nicely. Suzuki will focus on I four development. The commitment to the configuration for MotoGP will have trickle down benefits that may start showing in the end of this season.

Ducati 96 points

A star crossed season for DucAudi. Checa has qualified P8.1 in the rounds he participated in but finishes behind in P9.4. Teammate Badovini qualifies P12.4 and finishes P10.1. Midfield but far behind where one would expect for the manufacturer that has dominated much of the history of WSBK.

NEW: DIY Motorcycle Lift/Work Deck
Saw this in another thread and thought I would add it to the Reference Library. Since my last move I have been on the floor. I am thinking about this winter and upcoming projects. I have used DIY Lifts/Work Decks for years. This caught my eye.

Sykes takes the Friday provisional pole with a 1:35.567 (2012 pole - Checa with a 1:35.222). Melandri is in P3 with Aprilia support rider Guigliano splitting the two.

Checa turned in a solid performance for the day finishing in P4. Did DucAudi find enough in the Imola tests to move them back up the charts? The Moscow track is narrow and leans to the technical side which traditionally favors Ducati.

Camier was able to push his Suzuki P6 in front of Rea and his Honda P7. If he can keep the black side down he should do well this weekend; however that has been a challenge for him this year.

Guintoli is struggling back in P14 with his shoulder injury. This looks like a weekend for him to salvage whatever points he may for his Rider Championship hopes.

BMW

Davies turned in a P7 in FP1 only to fall to P10 in Q1. I continue to wonder if he is being sacrificed for race set up experiments. He needs to qualify better in Superpole in order to help the team keep others from scoring points or be in position to take over if Melandri falters.

Melandri is a provisional P3, down from P1 in the practice session. This is very encouraging; however his top speeds raise a question mark. He turned green for many of his timed laps, meaning he was the fastest rider on in the speed trap. He turned 307.8 kph compared to Sykes 303.0 for their respective best laps. With both on row one top speed would help win the race to turn 3. The concern comes in when the current handling history is taken into account. Melandri has complained about handling through the corners. He has not been able to carry speed through the corners thus has relied on the S1000RR top speed capabilities to make up for what he lacks in cornering speed.

I will be back tonight with team press releases. The BMW comments may take some interpriting.

BMW Motorrad GoldBet SBK Team - WSBK - Moscow Raceway - Qualifying Practice 1
The BMW Motorrad GoldBet SBK Team has had a successful start to the Russian round of the 2013 FIM Superbike World Championship by qualifying for the provisional front row. In this morning?s free practice at the ?Moscow...More

FWIW: I 'watch' racing on the live timing sites of the respective series. F1 has a Unix in color look but is my favorite with the SBK site a very close second. MotoGP ...well for all the sophistication of the bikes it is the worst I have used to date.

F1 Live timing remains my favorite data screen in large part because it gives you gap to the leader and the gap to the next driver. This makes tracking duels develop much easier. The SBK Live Timing data screen is a very close second.

With a larger screen the SBK parade of dots around the track might be of more use ( you can view it and the data screen); however with a netbook it is totally worthless. The live race notes on the F1 site are excellent.

motorcycle-usa.com: Backmarker: Ernst Degner and MZ Secrets
MotoUSA's Backmarker shares the story of Ernst Denger, an East German motorcycle racer and engineer that defected from the MZ Grand Prix team and Communism in 1961.

RECALL Transport Canada and Yamaha issued a recall on the Bolt and Bolt R models
On certain motorcycles, a wire harness may have been routed too close to the rear exhaust and could be damaged due to heat. This could result in engine stalling and a loss of vehicle propulsion which, in conjunction...

Woodcliff Lake, NJ ? July 19, 2013... BMW Motorrad is offering product changes on the following models for 2014. ...More

Eleven weeks after departing from London's Ace Cafe, one of the largest ever groups of international motorcyclists to attempt an overland expedition to Beijing arrived in the Chinese capital, having battled their way through some...More

Since 1979, Touratech founder Herbert Schwarz has travelled on different motorcycles all over the world but the distant and exotic island of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean has always intrigued him. A long-held dream finally came...More

The joy at a maiden podium for a BMW Z4 GT3 at the N?rburgring 24 Hours (DE) has not yet fully worn off, yet some of the BMW Sports Trophy teams are already set for the next endurance classic. The 65th staging of the 24-hour...More

NEW: DIY Motorcycle Lift/Work Deck
Saw this in another thread and thought I would add it to the Reference Library. Since my last move I have been on the floor. I am thinking about this winter and upcoming projects. I have used DIY Lifts/Work Decks for years. This caught my eye.

Marco Melandri (BMW Motorrad Goldbet) is back on the top step of the podium after an epic race 1 that was hard to imagine before the lights went off. Melandri's third win in the season means a big step up in the points for the Italian, who is now 32 points away from new Championship leader Sylvain Guintoli (Aprilia Racing Team).

Constantly changing weather conditions and several DNFs played a huge factor in today's first race, with 2013 flag-to-flag rules that came into place. The Italian, along with several other riders in the top positions, pulled in for a tyre change at the end of lap 20 as the rain got heavier, making almost impossible to ride on slick compounds. Thanks to a formidable pit-stop performed by his crew, Melandri closed the gap on the leader and team mate Chaz Davies, eventually getting on first position and pulling away to cross the line a lonely winner. Davies, on the other hand, led the race for the most part, showing great skills on both dry and mixed conditions.

Ayrton Badovini (Team Ducati Alstare) brought the 1199 Panigale R to a long-awaited first podium finish, thanks to an impressive performance in the last part of the race. The former STK1000 Champion found himself at ease on soaked wet conditions, to edge out from the top-3 Jonathan Rea (Pata Honda World Superbike) while entering the penultimate lap.

Sylvain Guintoli (Aprilia Racing Team) put in another heroic performance today by finishing sixth behind Michel Fabrizio (Red Devils Aprilia), despite the dislocated right collarbone and a big moment in the first half of the race.